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Francis Howell R-III School District board meeting, Oct 15, 2026

2 h 52 min · 6 public speakers

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 20:56Reading and test scores ▶ 2:01:15Safety, weapons and police ▶ 1:21:48

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 2 h 52 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Board vote on refund of $134.90 Sunshine Law fee fails 3⁠-⁠3 1:21:04

  • The board approved the Finance and Operations Report and the summer school proposal. 44:01
  • The board also approved a motion to excuse Jason Adams from the November and December board meetings. 1:09:11
  • A motion to refund a Sunshine Law fee of $134.90 failed on a 3⁠-⁠3 vote. 1:21:04
  • The board heard a staff presentation on the district's annual strategic plan dashboard. 2:01:05

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (14)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 5:42
    • Students from Central Elementary led the Pledge of Allegiance, and board members read the district's vision for 2030. 5:42
    • Steven Blair presented a motion to approve the agenda for October 15th, 2026. 9:13
    • The motion passed. ~9:28
  2. Student representative and Union presentation 9:36
    • A staff member introduced the student board representative for October from Francis Howell Union. 9:36
    • A staff member presenting on Francis Howell Union said nearly 76% of its students graduated on time last year despite starting credit deficient, and another 12% continued progress toward graduation. 14:53
  3. Patron comments 19:53
    • A speaker at public comment said there was no financial crisis and that fiscal year '26 finished with a surplus of $2 million. 20:56
    • A representative of FHEA spoke about the agenda item on a Sunshine request charge and about the cost of district insurance for staff. 31:56
    • A representative of FISPA spoke about support staff wages and benefits and a new data center under construction in Warrington. 34:51
  4. Superintendent comments 37:26
    • The superintendent recognized School Bus Driver Appreciation Week and National Principals Month. 37:35
    • The superintendent said multiple teachers and staff members had been personally identified on social media and asked stakeholders to stop using social media to target teachers, staff and community members. 41:42
  5. Consent agenda 43:47
    • Steven Blair called for a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. 43:47
    • The motion passed. ~44:01
  6. Finance and operations report 44:01
    • A district staff member said the fund balance was slightly reduced from the September presentation, from 26.28% to 26.14%. 44:49
    • Steven Blair asked for the state funding projection for '26-'27, and a staff member said the current projection is set at $67,666,234. 56:25
    • Jason Adams asked whether dependents still completing verification remain covered, and a staff member said that was the staff member's understanding. 1:00:45
    • The motion to approve the Finance and Operations Report passed. 1:03:31
  7. Summer school proposal 1:03:31
    • A staff member said summer school is anticipated to run from June 7th to July 2nd. 1:04:10
    • The staff member said the programs cost almost $2 million and projected a surplus of around $10,000. 1:04:10
    • The motion to approve the summer school proposal passed. 1:09:11
  8. Excused absence for a board member 1:09:11
    • Steven Blair presented a motion to excuse Jason Adams from the November and December board meetings. 1:09:11
    • Jason Adams said City of O'Fallon council meetings on the budget fall on the same day as the board meetings in those months. 1:10:14
    • The motion passed. ~1:12:56
  9. Sunshine Law fee refund request 1:13:13
    • Steven Blair presented a motion to refund a Sunshine fee amount of $134.90. 1:13:13
    • One board member said the request was out of sequence with the policy but said they would vote to approve the refund. 1:19:23
    • The vote was 3⁠-⁠3, and the motion failed. 1:21:04
  10. Purchases 1:21:02
    • Steven Blair presented a motion to approve the purchases as presented. 1:21:02
    • The motion passed. ~1:21:32
  11. District finances and facilities presentation 1:21:32
    • A district staff member said about 74% of the budget comes from local property taxes and about 82% of expenditures are tied to salaries and benefits. 1:22:25
    • Steven Blair asked about the next step for oversight of projects, and a staff member said the district would follow the same processes of presentation and accountability to the board. 1:55:28
  12. Strategic plan dashboard update 2:01:05
    • A staff member said the district ranked 19 out of 457 school districts on a 3-year composite, placing it in the top 4%, and that 30.8% of stakeholders agreed the district spends taxpayer funds effectively and efficiently. 2:01:15
    • A staff member said the district retained 91.4% of educators at the end of the 25⁠-⁠26 school year and identified about 1,000 staff members not registered in both RapBack systems. 2:10:01
    • Jason Adams asked what levers the district had to meet the fingerprinting goal, and a staff member said it is required for those employees. 2:35:29
  13. Policies and regulations 2:38:25
    • Steven Blair said two policies and an agenda policy were presented as first readings and others were up for second reading and vote. 2:38:25
    • The motion to approve the policies and regulations passed. 2:39:36
  14. Board comments and adjournment 2:39:36
    • Sarah Oelke noted National Bullying Prevention Month and Unity Day and thanked district staff. 2:39:52
    • One board member said it had been a hard week to be a board member and expressed support for teachers. 2:46:06
    • Steven Blair called for a motion to adjourn open session and return to closed session. 2:52:01

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “FHSD Board of Education Meeting-October 15, 2026”